Last day in Playa de la Arena, Tenerife

So - up early, showered, finished the packing and zoomed down to the pool (before 9am) so Flyingpops could have one last swim (her Dad splashed around in there too), we walked down to take one last look at the beach (once everyone was dry), and tried to find somewhere new for breakfast, and (as is typical for the last day of the holiday) we found an absolutely fantastic place up the stairs above the "Highland Paddy" (turn left at the top, can't miss it) who put on this little marvel (the "large") -

- for me, did Flyingpops a nice veggie breakfast, and cooked Tom a bacon omelette (which wasn't on the menu) with no objections at all...After breakfast we did a last few bits of essential shopping (Mojo sauce, banana liquor etc.) -

- then, with a few minutes left to spare we found a way up onto the roof of the apartments, so here you can see all the banana plantations out the back of the resort -

- the coach journey was really painless (last day of the holiday and they decide to re-open the road - double typical!) and we were among the first people in the queue for check in, had a drink, did a bit more shopping and then flew back, great flight, tail wind this time so landed early and Flyingpop's uncle Al picked us up at the airport right on time...and that was it!

Roll on Cornwall in the summer... ;)

Loro Parque, Tenerife

So, the last proper day of the holiday had arrived (boo!), but it was gonna be a good one (yay!), having resisted the hard sell at the "welcome" meeting (53 Euros a head) we had gone through the hotel and been booked up with an independent coach operator for the bargain price of 42 Euros each (quite a saving between the four of us)...the coach turned up on time and we had a couple of other pickups (took about half an hour I suppose, so not too bad), before heading out around the mountain road to the west of the island...we *had* been warned that this was going to be the case, "Make sure you have your seat arms firmly down, we don't want anyone flying out the window", we had all chuckled heartily and exchanged amused glances at that...by the time we were 30 minutes into the TWO HOURS of breakneck speed hairpin turns up and up and up, over and *over* again everyone looked rather green and were clinging onto the handles for dear life...

Mount Teide was visible for much of the journey, we skimmed past it (ears popping with the altitude) and then descended back down the other side (ears popping back again) to genuine exclaimations of relief when we pulled off the mountain path and onto a proper road...Loro Parque was a short hop from the motorway into Puerto de la Cruz (Port of the Cross, didn't see one, but I'm sure there was one there somewhere)...the driver dropped us off at the far end of the car park, so, still swaying slightly with the after effects of the journey, we made our way towards the "pre-paid tickets" entrance -

- there wasn't even a queue to pay for tickets, but once through the door there was about a ten minute wait for the mandatory picture with a parrot before you could actually see the park proper, and boy must they use a lot of water on the grounds (reminded me of Lost!) -

- Anyway, quickly checking the park map and show schedule revealed that the Orca show was going to start in about 20 minutes time, so we started following the signs (as quickly as we could), this worked fine until we reached a 4 way split that didn't have a picture of an Orca on it, so we just picked the one that seemed to be heading in the right sort of direction and when we got to the next "You are here" map (about 5 minutes later) we had somehow ended up on completely the other side of the park! So now, in much more of a hurry we retraced out steps and luckily fluked the right path on the second try, arriving at the back of a traffic jam of push chairs trying to cram their way through the unbelievably tiny entrance to the arena, some mountain climbing up rows of seats got us into position just as the introductory video came on the big screen (it showed how the Killer Whales had been shipped over to Tenerife from Florida 6 weeks earlier and hyped up how much Loro Parque is dedicated to taking care of the environment, although when they started with "The ocean is like a garden, and without a gardener it will suffer", I kind of switched off, what nonsense)...then, gasps from the crowd at the front drew my eyes to the side of the *huge* pool in front of me as we all caught our first glimse of one of the creatures in the flesh -

- seeing how enormous they actually are hit me like a brick, and sent the people in the "Splash Zone" into a purchase frenzy for 5 Euro plastic ponchos (hehe) -

- which didn't help ;) After this splash a few people actually walked out of the arena carrying their extra-hydrated packed-lunches dripping behind them -

- the show was awesome, but I think because the trainers and the whales are fairly new to each other the humans didn't actually get into the water (fearing accidental mistaken identity as a seal, no doubt), which was a bit of a shame, but that does mean it will be well worth making a trip back in a few years to see how things have come on -

Next, it was on to the penquin house, where they keep everything suitably chilly all year round (impressive for Tenerife) and have a number of snow machines that keep things authentic for the residents (who look happy enough) -

- which is more than I can say for the bloke whose job it was to clean the bottom of the tank (with what looked like a nail brush) -

After the penguins we had a bit of a wait before the dolphin show, so we had a little wander round, saw a huge number of extremely miserable looking parrots, and the odd slightly larger creature -

The dolphins were great -

- can't help but think they must get bored doing the same old things each day for their dinner (I paid for mine, and then wished I hadn't) which was a pretty terrible kebab -

- we went and saw the parrot show, which was actually *not* lame (climax was several large parrots and a flock of small ones circling the audience practially bushing our faces with their proximity) -

- then we went back into the penguin house to buy Flyingpops a present (a nice blue breakfast mug and a tiny plush parrot keyring) and I managed to take this shot of their amazing tank by the exit (it's about 3 stories high and about the same width as a tube train!) all the fish (pretty much) swim in the same direction like a vortex, really hypnotic -

- then we just had time to catch a bit of the sealion show -

- before it was time to head back to the coach (not really enough time there, but we *did* get to see everything, albeit briefly)...
The journey home was *much* better (initially), being along the motorway but the same traffic problems hit us as on the transfer when we got near our resort, without going into details it was a nightmare (especially for Flyingpops who had really liked that carrier bag)...
For our last night supper we found a place doing gazpacho soup (yay!) -

- and a nice steak (but not as good as the evening before) -

- and then we had a few drinks in the hotel bar watching a truly appalling rendition of "Grease" by the hotal staff...really didn't know where the holiday had gone...pickup was midday tomorrow, so we did at least have half a day left in the resort... ;)

Los Gigantes by day - Holiday Wednesday

We got up early and hopped over to Los Gigantes by cab to take a look round the resort by day, which was simply stunning -

- after strolling round the shops (shooting like mad, ended up with about 40 shots of the cliffs!) we tried to find our way to the beach for an uninterrupted view -

- we found it, and they really are staggeringly huge, apparently they are the second eighth tallest cliffs on the planet, and standing at their feet you can well believe it -

We found a nice little place (a small pub run by an English couple who commented "Not a bad view from the office window, eh?" as he served our drinks) by the marina to grab some breakfast (which made a nice change from the hotel buffet) -

- in the harbour itself we had been told that there were loads of fish (by the rep) and he wasn't kidding, the whole place was heaving with them, and not little darts of silver, these were big fat fish, a succession of tourists came to the harbour wall as we ate and threw in handfuls of bread...amazing! ;)

After breakfast we went back to the booze supermarket we had found the other night to pick up a few nice Spanish tapas dishes (which made it home safe and sound, I am pleased to say, but turned out *not* to be dishwasher proof, I am not pleased to say) and passed signs advertising traditional Canarian dishes outside the local resturants -

Lunch was a simple affair back at the apartment -

- and for supper Flyingpops and I ventured out alone and ended up in the same resturant the kind policeman recommended, where I had my best meal of the holiday (it was melt-in-the-mouth steaky goodness) -

- and Flyingpops' had hers (a very impressive veggie paella) -

- so, full and happy we returned to the apartment (early) because tomorrow was a 9am pickup for the trip to Loro Parque!

Playa de la Arena - onto the beach - Holiday Tuesday

So, after another infinite orange juice, buffet-style breakfast in the hotel we decided that today was the day to go and lay in the warm volcanic sands on the Playa itself...

...the coastline is rocky, but the sand is wonderfully smooth and warm (being black it absorbs so much more sunlight than white sand, must be a nightmare in the height of summer!), what the photographs don't show is the way it glittered, and it glittered like every ounce of sand was rich with tiny flecks of gold and diamonds -

- and the shore was peppered with rocks thrown out during the islands violent volcanic birth (they looked like they belonged on the moon!) -

In the evening we ended up in Los Gigantes after a long walk (which terminated with us giving up and hailing a cab) -

- where we wandered the alleyways until we found a nice looking place on the corner of the square by the church...Flyingpops and I shared garlic king prawns for our starter, which were jolly good (must try and replicate this at home) -

- and I had a "so-so" bit of steak for my main (which was a disapointment, as it looked absolutely fantastic(!) -

After dinner we wandered around the shops, found an amazing supermarket, which was extremely small - spead over two floors, the lower ground floor was almost entirely cigarettes and the ground floor had a bigger selection of alcohol than a Threshers megastore...

I imagine, had I looked really hard, I might even have found some food around there somewhere... ;)

Off to Los Gigantes - Monday

So, Monday we ate breakfast in the hotel resturant again, being lazy, but actually, the use of an infinite orange juice machine is well worth 5 Euros (alone) in my opinion...and the rest of the spread wasn't too bad (a bit of poking around would net you eggs and bacon that weren't *too* chewy)...so after a leasurely feed we drifted back to the pool, I took a few shots around the resorts cactus garden, which was pretty amazing (but I really think it could have done with being a little further back from the path, and a fence - toppling into that little lot late at night and worse for wear would have been all too easy...*shudder*)

Spent the bulk of the day by the pool...(feeding the doves and sparrows)...

...and played PSP in apartment (as usual) for an hour or two in the afternoon (while Flyingpops napped on the balcony). I got a tip for a good resturant to go to for quality grub in Los Gigantes from the girl behind reception, where I enjoyed a thoroughly superb leg of lamb with mint and gravy (yum) and some Sangrea (which might not have been the best idea, as I had been on the beers during the afternoon) -

- after dinner we found yet *another* (different) "Highland Paddy" pub where they were offering some entertainment - they had an old guy that sang old Beatles numbers (and played along with his guitar) come on just as we arrived which obviously wasn't quite my cup of tea, as I am told that after a few songs I drifted off into a doze (must be getting old) much to the amusement of the stand up comedian that came on after him, apparently he quipped "Well, that's a first, normally I have to tell some jokes before I start to send you lot to sleep!"...the laughing roused me from my petit slumber and I decided I needed to go to the bathroom and wake myself up a bit, so I stood up to cross the bar...to this he said "Oh bloody hell, I take that back, if it all kicks off in here tonight, I'm on his side, alright?"...hehe... ;)

(If you don't know me, I'm quite tall btw)... ;)

An evening in Peurto de Santiago - Sunday

Sunday was a sleepy day, breakfast in the hotel resturant ("desayuno dos por los días uno, por favor"), snoozing by the pool watching the red faced energetic contortions of those inclined to participate in the "aerobic activities" being run by "Don't be Laaaayzee Engleesh!" rep Federika, through half closed eyes...

A cheap lunch of a self-catering variety was sourced (didn't fancy eating the below pictured bread found in the resort supermarket though (I normally adhere to my self imposed guideline to steer clear of "Familiar Bimbo sandwiches" ;) after we had moved to a less breezy location by pool 1 (the sunshades by pool 3 kept on threatening to blow away)...

...spent a few hours playing GTA-LCS sat in the shade by the balcony during the afternoon and then found a great little resturant in Puerto de Santiago (about half way between Playa de la Arena and Los Gigantes) that served Pimentos al Padron, which is a very naughty little dish indeed, basically take about 30 small (hot) green chilli peppers, throw them into hot fat for a couple of minutes, then drain and serve with a small mountain of rock salt...(absolutely wonderful)...

...followed by "Grill Mixto" which when it arrived consisted of lamb chop, beef steak, veal sliver, chicken breast and a spicy pork sausage (10 Euros), a bit bland for me, but much improved with a good dose of "Salsa Mojo" (a chilli/garlic/tomato concoction unique to the islands)...

I could mention here that Tom had a bit of a tummy upset and decided (perhaps inadvisedly) that the only thing he wanted to have to eat was a prawn salad (which wasn't on the menu) and was a little dissapointed with the effort that the kitchen went to in order to accomodate him...so not a brilliantly successful meal (apart from my starter of course)... ;)
From there we went on to the "Highland Paddy" back in Playa de la Arena where a totally mad (German?) guy kept on trying to get us all up to dance to a fairly average karaoke performance, but we were too full (and not quite drunk enough) to join in... ;)

Playa de la Arena - Barcelo Veradero - Holiday update

So, Saturday morning we wake up, turn off the aircon (brr!), throw open the curtains to reveal a blinding sunrise (for some odd reason I was expecting clouds and rain) slid back the balcony doors (in order to let a little heat in), showered, dressed and slapped on the suncream (hate sunburn)...

...we nipped in to listen to the (Italian) rep and a (fat British) timeshare guy try and tempt everyone to book onto one of their massively overpriced excursions (which we resisted with little difficulty, sipping our complimentary orange juice with nonchalent indifference) and then headed out down the cliff road to find some breakfast...we settled in "The Pilgrim" a sort of English pub with only one wall (the rest was covered balcony, meaning that smoking was still allowed, the Spanish government seems to have largely banned it in public places since our last visit). It basked in this stunning view over the beach and commercial centre (not forgetting the awesome Los Gigantes in the background), however, the food didn't quite match the quality of the vista (being a bit cold and not exactly on the generous side), but it was *really* only a pub I suppose, it wasn't pretending to be a posh resturant... ;) -

On the way back up to the apartamentos we decided to stop off at the big supermarcardo to get some supplies, we had been tipped off (usefully) by the rep during the induction meeting that the two closest to the hotel were rather costly, comparitively, but the one all the locals used was only about 5 minutes further on down the road (we had actually spotted it on the way to dinner on Friday evening)...walking through the automatic doors into the cool (and slightly malodorous) interior was a real eye opener (and nose pincher)...When Flyingpops went to pick up one of the baskets we noticed the handles were different colours and totally different lengths, she looked up at me and with a bit of a frown said "Am I missing something here?", I seem to recall muttering something about it being jolly peculiar (a picture in my head of holding the basket normally and it being tipped at 45 degrees) then taking hold of it to try and understand when I saw someone zip passed us pulling the basket along on the floor with the longer handle...spinning it over revealed several tiny metal casters set into the bottom, so they were mini trolley/baskets! Astonishingly simple, I really have no idea why we don't we have them in England!

Walking around the store revealed a number of quite unfamiliar sights and smells, the meat section for example (I toyed with the idea of sneaking one back in my hand luggage, but I think the trotter sticking out the top of my rucksack might have given it away to customs) -

- and the fish(!), that monk fish was so large it would have comfortably covered my torso, and could have swallowed my arm (if it had been a) not dead, b) hungry and c) fancying a wild dietary change) -

- and heaps of octopus and squid(!) which members of staff were spraying incautiously with a hose to keep moist (they hit me also - to much blushing and gushing of apologetic sounding Spanish) -

Beer was super cheap too, between 60-80 cents per can, so we stocked up with a mixture of local and imported varieties and a few bottles of wine, plus some Sangrea (which came home with us in the suitcase, undrunk)...plus some sliced spicy chorizo, cheese, bread, cakes and sweets...and then the rest of the day was spent by/in the pool (which was to set the pattern for much of the rest of our time away) -

- the afternoon was only punctuated by an extremely vigorous game of water polo which Flyingpops, her dad and a stranger (young lass) lost to three large Finnish males, which wasn't really an even match (but was more than compensated for when Tom falsely extorted a winners certificate and bottle of champagne from a different member of staff 2 days later! Hehehe... ;)

In the evening we decided to get a cab to the yacht marina (down in Los Gigantes) which cost about 4 Euros, we got totally lost trying to follow the ludicrously detail-light resort map the rep had given us, but thankfully the dead end down which we found ourselves was also home to the police station, and some helpful officers not only pointed us in the right direction but actually recommended their favorite resturant, so a rather fortunate navigational stumble... ;) I had grilled lamb chops (which were exquisite) not sure about the single onion ring though, bit stingy... ;)

When we got back to the apartments we had a quick drink in the bar (watching the tail end of the evening's entertainment) and then retired to Flyingpop's folks room for a nightcap (some absolutely apalling (purportedly 10 year old) Whiskey Flyingpops' dad had grabbed excitedly in the supermarket when he saw the 6 Euro price tag)...and then to bed...